well i gave him the bath last night. it did him a lot of good. but i guess it is only temporary. ill have to give him another when i get back tonight. i remember when i was a kid with the chix pox i was in the damn tub all day.

my poor little boy. i can hardly pet him with out him cringing. i cant wait for the summer to be over. this sucks it big time. he's got big welts all over. his chest cleared up but his back and legs are all jacked up.

Well, Molly's case was definetly different from Rod's, but she got REALLY lumpy a while back, and it was out of the blue, so we took her to the emergency vet. They gave her a steroid shot, and then we had her on benadryl for about a week. She was actually cleared up the next morning, so I'm pretty sure the steroid shot was what did it. Have you tried that yet? I'm not sure what the long term effects are if you use it regularly, but if you could figure out which steriod they used (ie..get it done, ask the vet, then do it yourself) it might help out...not sure...trying to brainstorm for your poor guy...

Sorry..I didn't read any of the responses to your problem..but when I saw the very first pic..I absolutely had to reply..my dog had the exact exact same problem..it looked identical.

It was allergies..simple as that...it lasted the entire summer, and after that it went away last year..and never came back..how did I cure it? I dunno.. but what I did do was give her a tablespoon of OMEGA FLAX SEED oil into her food every day for about two - three weeks..it really helped her allergies..I also made sure never to use any perfumes or sprays around her..and never use fabric softener for her bedding when you're washing it...that goes for all of her towels as well...when you give her a bath, use only oatmeal shampoo...with no other ingredients in it..no yucca..camomile..NADDA..just oatmeal based shampoo..

Also make sure not to brush her coat when its in that condition..this makes it worse from my experience. If you live in a really humid place, try to keep an air conditioner on during the day on low power and even get an air filter...I bought one just a few days..it helps get rid of some allergens..

I hope that helps and I hope nobody else already told you all this...good luck with your pooch..you never know it will probably go away like it did with my dogs..I know that pit bulls do commonly get skin problems and allergies like that so try not to worry too much just yet.

pitbullforever wrote:did you ever see a vet about the prob??? maybe they may have some suggestions. everyones right it's probley an allergy. try a different shampoo and blow dry him dry. maybe that will help.

i know its allergies. hes 3 now. its been like this every summer. all i can do is give him allergy meds and antibiotics. also i give him dermCaps ES. ill have to look into flaxseed oil

as far as bathing him i only do it very rarely. i have a non soap shampoo that does right by him so ill stick with that. i've definitely learned my lesson not to use any type of brush. im always really gentle and quick with his baths

thank you all for your advise. he's clearing up for now but still very itchy and tender.

Damien, check back to this post on Tuesday. My boss' bull terrier has really bad allergies and he is on something that seems to help, (its over the counter too ) but I cant think of the name right now, but when I get to work tom. I will post. I usually give Boo a bath for my boss and I use an oatmeal shampoo and/or Johnsons baby shampoo. I know your not supposed to bathe dogs with human shampoo but his reactions after bathing are rare with the baby shampoo. Boo also has a lot of ear allergies, we havent seemed to figure that one out yet. Does Rod have ear allergies to??

Sorry, I didnt see the second page about the oatmeal shampoo. So please dont take any of my advice. I will post tom. what my boss' dog is on, so maybe you coud call your vet and see if it might help for Rod.

If you're going to give an oil supplement, fish oil (or salmon oil) may work better than flaxseed. From what I've read, some dogs have a hard time processing the flaxseed oil, as it's derived from plant matter, so they don't get as much out of it. Also, most dogs' diets already contain enough omega 6, it's the omega 3 levels that are low, and a fish oil will balance that out better than flaxseed, which has both omega 6 and 3.

For most dogs, I think maintenance dose of the fish oil is 1000mg per 25 lbs or so, but a higher dose may be more benefitial to dogs with joint problems, skin problems, etc, up to 1000mg per 10 lbs body weight.

Also, a note on steroids, they can be nasty catalysts if your dog is already predisposed to certain disorders. When our younger APBT was with her former owner, she had a cortisone shot for some swelling and fluid buildup around the stub where her leg was amputated, and about a month later, was diagnosed with diabetes. I later read in several trustworthy sources that the reason for the peeing, excessive drinking, and eating some dogs show when they're on steroids is because it puts them in a temporary diabetic state (don't remember exactly how now, but I believe it inhibits the insulin's effectiveness at breaking down sugars), and a few dogs remain in that state permanently. It's pretty uncommon for a dog to develop diabetes so young (14 mos old), so it would make sense that something may have set it off, though she may have also been genetically predisposed to having the disease. Granted, we really don't know if there was a connection, and even if there was, it isn't a very common occurence, but worth considering if your vet is one to go straight for the steroids in cases of allergic reactions and inflammation, especially if you don't know much about your dog's family history.

gooeydog wrote:For most dogs, I think maintenance dose of the fish oil is 1000mg per 25 lbs or so, but a higher dose may be more benefitial to dogs with joint problems, skin problems, etc, up to 1000mg per 10 lbs body weight.

This is very good advice. I also have read about flaxseed being difficult for dogs to store and use efficently, Pookie's oncologist confirmed this information when I asked her about it. To figure out the dosage of salmon or fish oil (salmon oil has cancer fighting properties, so I tend to push it over fish oil) if your dog has allergies, skin or joint problems, or cancer....start off with 2000mg, and you can increase until the stool gets runny. Then cut back 1000mg until the stool is formed again. You don't have to worry about any ill effects from giving too much of the oil, the worst thing that will happen is they'll get the runs. Since I've been giving all my dogs salmon oil, their allergies never bother them in the summer.

Last edited by concreterose on Tue Aug 24, 2004 11:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.